Chance encounters have been major players in Dawn Davis’s life. A random meeting on a plane introduced her to publishing. An on-the-fly author reading in a public library turned into an annual literary brunch at Lola’s.

Lew French's new book, Sticks and Stones, a collaboration with Island photographer Alison Shaw, catalogs much of his work over the last 10 years: fireplaces, walls, landscapes, and his second home in Brazil. A Chilmark patio may bring to mind Stonehenge, a Japanese garden and regional geology.

Every September, the Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival takes movie-lovers on a world tour of cinema with films from virtually every part of the globe.

Patti LuPone grew up in a house on Long Island where music was practically a member of the family.